The retina is the neural part of the eye responsible for vision and the pattern of blood vessels serving the retina is as unique as a fingerprint, so it is also called an ‘eye print’.
The idea for retinal identification was first conceived by Dr. Carleton Simon and Dr. Isadora Goldstein and was published in 1935 but the technology used to exploit this information was developed much later. By 1985 retinal scan technology became available for computerized biometric identification and commercial security use.
Retinal scans are just one of the biometric methods using the eye for personal identification. Retina is more reliable and much harder to tamper compared with other biometrics such as fingerprints, face, hand, voice and signature.